This Is My Story
by StripeyJumper
Summary: I had a year and a half to stop Itachi from murdering his clan. I spent a year training, and half a year learning Japanese. NOW what was I going to do? My name is Yukana. This is my story. Itachioc, moderate language
1. prologue: If Only

**O-kay, everybody!**

**I did some SERIOUS re-writing on this chapter and it's much more interesting now****, and although it's one of those stories about a girl who finds herself in the Naruto world, it's NOT a complete mary-sue, and it has a more realistic storyline. I hope you'll stick with me til the end. Sorry, that was a bit mushy...**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Neither does George, my invisible pet bunny.

Another Disclaimer: I don't own 'If Only' coz that belongs to Louis Sacher, or whatever the hell his name is.

**Prologue****: If Only **

"Sasuke?" I croaked as I stared at the battle scene before me. "Are you alright?"

"…Yeah…" He said distractedly. He looked at the still figure lying in front of him. Sasuke bent down to inspect the body, then looked at me. "…He's dead."

"He's… he's dead?"

For a second I didn't beleive him. His words rattled around in my brain as I tried to make sense of them. _He's dead._ How could that be? How could he just _die_ like that?

Sasuke seemed to read my thoughts and answered. "I don't know. His heart has just stopped."

Sasuke's words shocked me like I never thought they would. "What?" I whispered to myself. How could someone as strong as he _die_? Was it possible? Was it possible that he had been in too much pain? I stared at the still form lying on the rocky ground, my hair whipping around my face in the wind. "Kihaku betsuri no jutsu!" I activated my signature technique.

My soul separated from my body and entered the man on the ground's, looking to find some thought, some indication that he was still alive.

Nothing. Nada. Not a peep. He was stone dead. My soul returned to my body. My mind was blank, I couldn't think. My stomach felt cold, and I kept having to remind myself to breathe.

I was slightly aware that Sasuke had walked past me. "Well, Yukana-chan? Are you coming or just standing there?"

I couldn't keep my eyes off the dark form on the ground. "You're just going to…leave him here?"

Sasuke's lip curled. "It's no more than he deserves. Yukana-chan, _are you coming_?

I flinched at the suffix _chan_. It just sounded wrong coming out of his mouth somehow. Maybe it was something to do with the fact that It was _his_ pet name for me.

"Yes…in a while…just give me a minute to gather my thoughts…okay?" I managed to choke out a reply.

Sasuke seemed to understand and nodded. "I'll wait for you at the old training ground."

I listened to the sound of his footsteps slowly getting fainter. When Sasuke's chakra signature was gone completely, I stumbled over the rocky terrain to where the body of the man I hated so lay, half expecting him to stand up and smirk at me. Only five percent of me actually accepted that he was gone. But why? I was the one who helped Sasuke get stronger for this purpose. My vision blurred, and I was instantly on guard. Was I blacking out? Was he still alive, and putting me under a genjutsu?

With shock, I realized that I was crying. Tears were streaming down my cheeks and splattering on the ground. Oh god, what was happening to me?! This was crazy, I was blubbering over a missing-nin! A dry sob escaped my lips as I shook his arms gently.

"Itachi…Itachi, wake up…Itachi? Oh god…Itachi, come on, wake up…" I kept repeating myself until the words no longer sounded like words and his handsome face was wet from my tears. Why was I begging him to wake up?! Why did I care?! This was the man who had ruined everything, the source of my suffering!

Then it came to me.

Oh hell. Oh Jesus. Christ on a bicycle. Oh for the love of all that's holy, he had tricked me. He had bested me, beaten me, fooled me into making a terrible mistake.

He had made me fall in love with him, just as he said he would.

The sun was setting, bathing his silent features in orange light. Now that I realized it, he actually was ridiculously handsome. A piece of his raven hair flickered across his face in the wind. I rested my forehead against his, my mind in turmoil. My world had turned upside down with no way to fix it.

No. Maybe there was a way to fix it, to bring back the man I had hated and loved so. My brain was back into gear and trying to form a plan. Was there a way to bring back the dead? There was that jutsu that Chiyo-Baasama had used on Gaara, but that would take my life and besides, I had no idea how to perform it. There was.. nothing...

...in _this_ dimension. But what about another one?

The plan had close to zero chance of succeeding, but I had nothing to lose. I took one look at his face and knew I had to try. I gingerly picked up his body and ran as fast as I could to the village Hidden in the Leaves.

As I ran, I suddenly remembered a little poem I read in a book once.

_If only, if only, the woodpecker sighs, _

_The bark on the tree was as soft as the skies. _

_The wolf waits below, hungry and lonely, _

_And cries to the moon, _

_if only, if only._

If only I had been strong enough to stop Itachi from murdering the clan. If only I had been there to prevent Sasuke from leaving the village. If only I could have saved the third Hokage. If only it had been different.

And why hadn't it been different? I had known that Itachi was going to kill the Uchiha clan. True, I had only started training to be a kunoichi, but I could have told somebody, could I not have? But I was too selfish; I wanted Itachi to myself, being the obsessed fangirl that I once was. And Sasuke. I had been careless; letting him grow up like I knew he would, full of malice and hate. Even more careless I had been when I managed to get captured by the bloody Akatsuki, meaning that I could not stop him from leaving.

So why had things gone so wrong?

Oh, that's right. Because I'm a fuckin' idiot.

My name is Yukana. This is my story.

**Kay, that's the prologue written. The actual first chapter is next, so just you wait to see how ABSOLUTELY AWESOME my story is! And if you don't, I'll make you explode!!****…heh heh heh…katsu…**

**Dei****dara: You are obsessive, un…**

**Yes.**** Yes I am. Now shut up before I put that video of you singing in the shower on youtube.**

**Deidara: You take videos of me in the shower?? 0.o**

**Umm…no? ANYWAY! Review and get the ultimate prize…NOT GETTING BASHED UP BY GEORGE! Isn't that a great prize? You people should be grateful. **


	2. Ch1 Take off

**.....Yeah. Ahem. Sorry. Completely my fault. What has it been, like, 4 monthes?! I really am sorry! Chapter one here.**

Disclaimer: *twiddles thumbs* Still don't own Naruto...

* * *

**Chapter one: Take-off**

This was me in a nutshell:

name: Edie

Age: just turned 12!

Nationality: Australian

Looks: dark blonde hair past my sholders, blue-grey eyes, glasses, about 4 foot 9, 53 kg.

Traits: cheerful, violent when angry, fairly popular.

Obsessions: Naruto, Uchiha Itachi, Eyeshield 21, Uchiha Itachi, Death Note, video games, Uchiha Itachi, Full Metal Achemist, Uchiha Itachi...oh, and did I mention Uchiha Itachi?

Yeah. My mum was constantly yelling at me for spending too much time on the screen. She was worried about my obsession with 'fake Japanese pople', and the fact that I had no problem with it whatsoever. I belonged to a group of anime nutters, I had an account on fanfiction. net, I spent my lunchtimes reading fanfics, that sort of thing. I was a completely average fangirl.

I had just gotten back from a trip to France with family. I had missed an anime convention and school holidays, plus four weeks of playing my Wii, so I was kind of glad to be back. I was still suffering from jetlag and it was a Monday so I really didn't expect myself to keep up.

I was walking up to the shool building (which we call The Brick) when I heard a scream.

"Edie-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannn!!"

"Hi, Claudie-neechan!" I called out to mass of frizzing black hair that was coming my way, fast.

Claudia gave me a bear hug full of boob, pulled back and bombarded me with questions. How was France? Did I go to Paris? What was the food like there? I answered them all and walked her to her locker, then went upstairs to mine. There I was also given bear hugs full of boob (or, in Molly's case, non-existant boob,) and the same boring, unimaganitive questions were asked. France was great. Of course I went to Paris. Those crazy French will eat anything.

The bell rang.

**

* * *

**Drama (elective)

French

**Recess**

Humanities

Science

**Lunch**

English

Maths

* * *

I really don't know how I managed to get through the day because a) it was full of people asking me the excact same questions and b) it was a Monday. Aaargh. Mondays. And I still had to walk home! It was only a few blocks, but aaaaaarghh! Aaargh, aaargh, aaargh. I was just out of the main foyer when I saw Domenique.

"Hey, Dom," I said a bit weakly. "wassup?"

Dom turned around and smiled a big, broad, grin. "Edie! When did you get back?"

"Erk. Yesterday..."

She frowned. "Isn't France like, nine hours behind Melbourne?"

"ya-huh."

"Oh..." she was silent for a bit, then slapped me on the the back. Hard. "Well, sucks for you, doesn't it?"

"...Thanks. For breaking my spine, I mean..."

She frowned again. " Oh, you crybaby, you!....Omigod!" Dom's eyes grew wide. "OMIGOD! I TOTALLY forgot to tell you! Come with me!"

She took me by the hand and started dragging me towards the South end of The Brick. "Hey! Whoa! Where are we going?! Dom!"

"Y'know Gateway Park?"

"Yeah..." I was still confused.

About a third of Gateway Park was school property, where students could hang out and eat their lunch. Joggers were still allowed to pass, but no students from another school. The only reason we had it was that The Brick's courtyards were the smallest bloody courtyards in the world. I never went there much, because, as I say, I spent all of my lunchtimes in the library.

"Dom, what's so 'omigod' that it can't wait 'til tomorrow?" I demanded as she pulled me passed the trees.

We stopped. "There, look!" she pointed into the empty clearing right in front of us...or, it _used_ to be empty.

It was a tree. And not just a tree. It was a frickin' ENORMOUS tree. It was an old oak, twisted and gnarled, right in the middle of the clearing. Its leaves looked sick, and many of the roots were showing above ground.

I was astounded. After all, a tree like _that_ doen't exactly grow in a month. The month I was away for no less!

"Whoa..." I mumbled. "Holy sh...whoa."

"It just appeared there about a week ago, somehow!" Domenique explained. "People say it must have been planted by some retards or something, but it would take, like, ten gazillion people to move it!"

"And planting something that age would have killed it..." I added.

We walked up to it. For some reason, it looked...familier. I voiced my opinion to Domenique.

Dom laughed. "I know what you're thinking of. You've seen _Prince Caspian_, right?"

"Yeah, but what's th-OH!" I exclaimed, slapping my hand. "It's that tree that they go through, at the end, isn't it?!"

"That's the one!"

I whistled. This was too weird! Wait 'til I told mum about THIS! Dom glanced down at her watch.

"HOLY SHIT! I'm late! Dave's gonna skin me!" Sorry Edz, I gotta split!" She raced off in the direction of the tram stop.

Startled by her sudden departure, I half-raised my hand as a goodbye then let it drop. I checked my own watch to see if I was late home yet.

Nope. Three fifteen. I turned back to the twisted old tree to look and be amazed once more before I left.

Exept it wasn't twisted any more. It wasn't even old.

It was still big, sure, but the leaves were green and the wood looked a lot healthier. But there was one even bigger differance.

It had LEGS. Well, when I say it had legs, I don't mean it had_ legs_ legs. I mean The tree was half split long-ways from the bottom, and the split halves had formed into an archway. Okay, not really legs. but an awful lot like the tree in _Prince Caspian_. Which meant...it led to another world? No. Don't be stupid. This was all an illusion. Like genjutsu. No, Must Not Think Of Naruto At Time Like This. No, I decided, it must be the heat getting to me.

Something in the back of my head told me that one, it was a sixteen degree day, two, that was was the excuse everyone made and three, that I was a fuckwit. I don't know where the last comment came from, but it was telling me that I should walk through the hole in the tree to see what happened.

No, I argued with myself, what would that achieve?

_Hello! It's giant fucking hole in a tree! How can you NOT walk through it?_

'coz it won't take me anywhere!

_You don't know that! Besides, It'll be the most interesting thing you've done in years!_

What about France?

_WALK. THOUGH. THE FUCKING. HOLE._

I sighed. Twelve was SUCH a bad age for going senile. I mean, seriously. I just argued with myself and _lost. _

I walked through the fucking hole. Where was it supposed to take me, the Naruto world?

There. Whoohoo. I walked though a hole. And much good may it do me. Time to go home and do homework. I turned around to walk back through the hole.

And walked straight into solid wood. I was dazed and disoriented for a few seconds, nothing regestering in my brain. I looked at the tree. It had reverted back to a normal tree, with no indication that it had been anything else. Right, I decided. I needed a nap. A long one. I started heading back to the to the Brick. But when I looked up, I couldn't see it. I couldn't even see any buildings.

Where the hell was I?! I mean, seriously! I stumbled a few steps forward, then stopped. Okay. I was going clear my head, take a deep breath. Panic would come later.

I closed my eyes. Things I knew: I walked through a tree, taking me somewhere else. The hole in the tree has closed up, so no going back that way. Things I don't know: how to get back, or where I was in the first place. Things I was going to do about it: look around, leaving some sort of trail so that I could find my way back to the tree.

...Wow. Take-off of Narnia much?

I took out my pocket knife and walked to the edge of the clearing. Marking the closest tree with a dash, I set of in the direction that I heared faint signs of a marketplace or something.

**

* * *

**

I stared.

And stared.

And stared some more.

Marketplace indeed, although the markets in Melbourne looked nothing like this. It looked more like something you'd find in Asia. I slowly walked out into the alleyway of stalls. It was a happy place, people jostling about and children tugging at their parent's arms; although for some reson I could never hear what anyone was saying. I decided to ask somebody, so I strolled over to what looked suspisiously like a teahouse. I was just about to walk in in the door when two teenagers walked out, speaking to each other. It was then that I relized why I couldn't understand anyone.

They were speaking Japanese. _Japanese_. I looked up at the sign on the front of the teahouse - for of course, that's what it was - written in Kanji. Whoa.

I took two steps back and looked around. Now that I realized, it was undeniably Japan. I could see a few people in yukata and wearing destinctive Japanese style. I walked at a brisk pace down the street wearing my tourist expression, vaugley wondering if I should be focusing on trying to get back home when someone walking past caught my eye. He was about thirty-five with a stern face, and was completely unremarkable, except for what he was wearing. A vest.

It was dark green with pouches on the front. It was very thick, as if made to withstand damage, and it had neck guards. On the back was a swirly pattern.

Hardly daring to believe it, my eyes flicked up to the back of the guy's head. His hair was short, so it was easy to see the headband tied around his forhead.

...........

...........

...........I had nothing to say. My mind was blank, exept for the phrase 'OMFG'.

OMFG.

I

WAS

IN

THE

NARUTO

DIMENSION.

NO. No, wait. No WAY was I in the Naruto dimension. This must be like a... a town of cosplayers or something!

**'Girl, do you even listen to y'self talk? Town of cosplayers. Jesus!'**

So shocked was I at this voice in my head that I sumbled and fell. _'wh-who are you?'_ I asked the voice.

**'Name's Eri. Y'can call me Eri.'**

_'And....why are you in my head?'_

**'I'm your Inner Self.'**

_'My_ Inner Self_? As in, like, Inner Sakura?'_

**'Inner Sakura? That poor girl, Sakura doesn't even acknowledge her existance! She thinks she's just talking to herself!'**

_'Um,_' I thought, _'So, why, exactly, do I have an Inner?'_

Eri sighed. **'Well I _think_...not sure on this, though...that I'm the spirit of your twin sister.'**

My Mum had told me, when I was little, that I was originally going to be born a twin, but my sister was stillborn. Dad said they were going to call her Erica. Her spirit must have sheltered in my body or something. Wait, did that mean that Sakura was oraginally a twin?

Erica heard my thoughts. **'I dunno about that. Maybe there are other ways of getting an Inner. And don't call me Erica!'**

I continued walking down the street as I spoke to Eri. _'So I really am in the Naruto Dimension huh....' _This was SO awesome.

**Well, considering that I can talk to you, I'm guessing-hey, what's that?'**

There was a large crowd gathering around the middle of the street. There was shouting but of course, I didn't understand anything. Then, above the other voices, a higher, arrogant tone shout something but was cut short with what sounded like a hack. Again, I didn't catch anything. Except one word.

'Dattebayo.'

I made my way through the crowd into the middle. If Naruto was still getting beaten up, how far into the plot could we be? I made it to the center. Sure enough, there was a seven-year-old Naruto, getting his ass kicked by a couple of punks.

'Oi!' I yelled. The two punks turned and looked at me.

Ah shit. Now what was I gonna do?

**'Don't say anything else. Just walk over there and get Naruto out of here!'**

I agreed with this plan. I sort of hop-skipped to where Naruto was on the ground, looking a little stunned. Slowly I helped him back on his feet. One of the punks started shouting at me, rambling on in rapid Japanese. I glared at him for a bit, humphed and led Naruto by the hand away from the scene.

* * *

**'That was nicely done.' **said Eri as I led Naruto in no actual direction. Once I decided that we were far enough from those punks, I stopped and faced Naruto. Whoa. Kodak moment. Hee hee, his face was so CUTE and INNOCENT and CONFUSED!

**'Um, Edie?'**

Right. Problem at hand. Must be delt with. I made a 'shoo' gesture with my hand, hoping he would scamper off. He just stared at me. I frowned. This was going to be hard.

Naruto said something.

I looked up. He was still staring innocently at me. I shook my head and sat down under a tree. Naruto sat down too and said something else. When I didn't answer, he cocked his head and said something that sounded like a question and ended in 'deska'. Still I said nothing. Naruto seemed to see that I couldn't understand him and pointed to himself.

'Naruto.' He introduced himself.

I smiled and nodded. If only he knew how useless that infomation really was. Then he pointed to me, the question obvious. He wanted _my_ name in return.

Holy Crap! What do tell him? Think of A name, think of a name quick! Ummm....I know!

'Yukana.' I replied.

Yukana was my oraginal character for a fanfiction I was writing. I really liked the character, and like so many other OCs, she was based on myself. I had completely made up the name though.

Naruto grinned. He stood up and beckoned me to follow him. I stood up too and he took my hand and started leading me away, saying something.

Which ended in 'Yukana-neechan'.

* * *

Naruto sat me down at Ichiraku Ramen's and said something to the old man, who nodded and looked at me. Naruto introduced me (I think) and produced Two coupons from his pocket. The old man took them and went off, calling Ayame.

A little later, Ayame brought out two bowls of ramen. One she placed in front of Naruto, one in front of me. I looked at Naruto. He grinned and picked up his chopsticks. I did the same.

'Itadakimasu.' we said in unison. Naruto looked surprised at this but let it go.

Luckily, my friend Shou Hua (chinese) had tought me how to use chopsticks so I didn't make a fool of myself here. I ate my ramen in silence. It was really good, I could see why Naruto often came here. Naruto finished his bowl of ramen in five seconds flat. I looked at him and he grinned. I smiled back and finished my own ramen with a slurp. Naruto stood up and waved at me to follow him.

'Koi.' he said. Come. Where were we going now? We started walking down the street. Suddenly, I heard a shout from behind us and I turned around.

Oooohh no. It was the two punks from before. And they were angry.

One of them started yelling at me. I think he was insulting me (he was refering to me as 'teme'). The funny thing was, I didn't know what he was saying so it didn't matter. I poked my tongue out at him. So there! ....No, that just made him angrier. He took a long swig out of a sake bottle. Ah. Drunk then. He took a couple of drunken steps towards me and his mate followed suit. Now that was a bit worrying. I sarted edging backward.

'Naruto-kun...' I murmured to him.

'Aa?'

I made a quick 'shoo' gesture. He shook his head. I gave him my best glare and he got the message. He darted down a narrow alleyway and a let out a sigh of relief. He was safe for the moment.

**'He's safe? What about us?! Hello! Enemy approaching!'**

...Shit.

I ran like a bat out of hell. I scanned the crowd in front of me for places to escape. There were plenty. I weaved, ducked and dipped my way through the market square, almost tripping every two seconds. But no mater what I tried, those punks were hard on my heels. My breath got ragged and I was stimbling with every step. Oh, I was SO not going to live through this! I should have never gone through that bloody tr-

WHACK. I collided with someone walking the other way. Oh nooooo, this was the end! The person I smacked into said something and I looked up.

And blinked.

And blinked again. And again. Just to make sure that I hadn't been knocked unconsious and this wasn't some fangirlish fantasy. Because the boy in front of me was...

OH

MY

GOD.

OMIGODOMIGODOMIGODOMIGODOMIGODOMIGODOMIGODOMIGODOMIGODOMIGODOMIGODOMIGOD OH MY GOD.

UCHIHA ITACHI.

There was no mistaking it. It was a younger Itachi, from the long raven hair to the stress line running diagonally down his face. Only....his onyx eyes were different. They were thoughtful, and they were kind....although right now, they were confused. It made him look so cute I had to look away and down to the boy standing next to him. Obviously Sasuke, his chicken-ass hair stuck out at odd angles and and a puppy-dog look was on his face. Standing together like that....it just made me want to squeal, it was so adorable!

I was forced out of my fantacies by a rough hand pulling me up by the back of my shirt and I was suddenly facing a very pissed punk. He start yelling in my face and spit went flying everywhere. He made a fist and started to pull back, ready to punch me. I shut my eyes for impact.

The blow never came. I opened my eyes to see a hand wrapped firmly around the punks wrist. I followed the long, slender arm up to its very sexy owner, who was glaring very sexily at a very angry drunk. I tachi said something that sounded sexy to me but obviously wasn't as it scared the punk out of his wits. He scrambled back to punk no. 2 and whispered something in his ear. Now both punks were scared out of their wits. They started running the other way but were immediately rounded up by two jonin that had come to investigate all the fuss.

'Yukana-neechan!' Naruto called. He came running up from behind a fruit stall and I held out my hand to him. He grabbed it and grinned.

**'Oh, god damn it! Edie, get rid of Naruto and get outta here before they try and question you!' **Eri growled.

Oh shit! If they find out I can't speak Japanese, they'll think I'm a spy or something! I started to edge away, hoping nobody would say anything to me.

Itachi said something to me. Dammit! I turned and bowed. 'Aregato.' I mumbled to the ground. Then I ran. How long had I been gone from my dimension? An hour? Two? If I was lucky, I could tell Mum that I had been chatting with friends. I needed to ditch these people and leave!

My fangirl side was telling me I was insane. I was RUNNING AWAY from Uchiha Itachi! I was in the Naruto world, I could do anything I wanted, I could become a kunoichi!

The other side of me however, over-ruled this. It was definately time to go home.

'Yukana-neechan!' Naruto yelled, who was running after me.

I skipped between randoms, dodging food carts and avoiding stepping on little kids' toes, while trying to keep out of Naruto's sight.

* * *

It worked. I had reached the trees that I had come out of and was doubled up, gasping for breath. Running had never been my specialty, but sprinting for three minutes was ridiculous. Well, for me.

I checked my watch as I followed the trees I had marked. I had been gone for an hour and a half. I would have a hard time explaining to Mum. I reached the old oak and approached it. Now....how could I get it to open? I touched the trunk with my hand.

'I want to go home,' I whispered. 'To my own world.'

The oak untwisted. The leaves coloured and the roots disappeared underground. I stood in front of the portal. Jeez, it looked so much like a simple hole. Crazy. I walked through, and suddenly I was in the school park again. I looked around and frowned. There were still people leaving school. After an hour and a half?

I ran back to the school building and went inside. There was a clock on the wall to my right and I glanced at it.

It was three fifteen. The same time as when I left. No time had passed at ALL. Time had... stood still. But _why_?? What logic was behind this? What science? OH MY GOD. This was SO like a bad fanfic. And even if it wasn't....OH MY GOD.

Take off of Narnia much?!

* * *

***pant pant pant* there! Chapter one, god dammit! Done! .....Well....review and I give you.....my old Yu-gi-oh manga! How's that, eh? Eh?....Er, anybody??**

**Yugi:......Why does nobody like meeeeee???**

**Maybe coz your gay. Anyway! SORRY about that wait! I'm ashamed of myself. I really am. Oh, Molly, if your reading this, sorry about that boob comment, but seriously! Grow some tits, girl! Hee.**

**R & R, everybody! Anybody! Cherry-san! Please!**


	3. Suspected

**Okay, okay. Ignore the warning that used to be here. After receiving those reviews from Kaleni-chan, I realized that she was right. I mean wtf was I thinking? I feel stupid. And if you don't know what the hell I'm talking about, then forget it and read the chapter! It's good! Promise! I swear on Kakashi's grave that it's a good chapter!**

**Kakashi: But I'm not dead.......-.-'**

**YES you did. You died and came back to life. Do not try to defy my divine logic, you n00b**

Disclaimer: I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. Cuz you'll be waiting for a long, long, time.

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Suspected**

The next morning Mum couldn't understand why I was so keen to go to school. It's not as if I could've told her, so I just said that I had a lot of energy. She accepted this because I was weird that way; mood swings like hell.

I didn't wait until lunchtime. I couldn't have. I had too much to see, too much to do. I reached the tree and I put my hand on the trunk, like last time, and thought about Konoha. I was rewarded with a creaking sound and I opened my eyes. There was the hole, appearing as suddenly as it did the first time. I took a deep breath and walked through.

It was a windy day in Konoha. My hair swept around me like something I couldn't control as I stepped into the marketplace. It was as busy as ever with people yammering on in Japanese.

Oh yeah. I couldn't speak Japanese. Right. Well. THAT was a rather big obstacle in my plans for the day.

**'This is why you _think_ before you _do_, sweetheart.'**

_'And you can just shut the hell up, you jerk.'_

**'Nooooooo way. I've been silent too long.'**

Well, I suppose that was true. Being stuck in someone else's body for twelve years wasn't really anyone's idea of fun.

**'Back on the topic at hand, though, what are we going to do? We can't talk to anyone, and your school doesn't teach Japanese.'**

_'I don't know.....OH, GOD DAMN IT! I was so excited!'_

_Now _what was I gonna do? If I run into those two punks again there would be trouble, and this time there was no Itachi to save me.

That's right! Itachi had saved me! I put my hand over my mouth and smiled widely, a small habit that I had. Itachi had saved me from the bad guys. He had saved me, he had looked at meeeeeee.....

**'Uh, Edie?'**

Right. Fangirl moment over. Man, I gotta get with it. What if I saw-

'Yukana-neechan!'

Jesus Christ on a bicycle. Speak of the devil, that obnoxious voice could only belong to......

I felt something crash into me from behind that sent me flying. I landed on my stomach, dazed, not completely sure what had happened. The first thing I registered was the weight on my back and the excited chattering in Japanese accompanied by the occasional 'Dattebayo'.

I turned my head and there was Naruto sitting on my back, raving on about who knows what; all the while getting both strange and loathing looks from randoms in the street. What were the chances that I'd run into him twice at the same place? Although, this could be the place where he usually hung out. Hmm.

Seeing that I was uncomfortable, Naruto jumped off and asked me something. I knew it was a question because it ended in _deska_. Since there was nothing I could say, I merely gave him a look that said 'I'm sorry' and stood up. He seemed to remember that I couldn't understand him and frowned. I could almost see the cogs working in his mind. I ruffled his hair in reassurance and he looked up. I smiled at him and he grinned back. Oh, he was just so adorable! I'd always liked Naruto when he was a kid. He was so energetic and naive. Only, he looked so sad when he was alone. He had no-one to talk to....

I suddenly hugged him. I hugged him tightly, and he yelped. He was startled by the unexpected contact, but hugged me back anyway. He started squeezing me too, as if this was the first time anyone had hugged him in his life. Which was probably the case anyway.

Naruto suddenly pulled away and glared at something behind me. I turned and immediately saw what the matter was.

Sasuke.

Sasuke was standing behind me, staring. He smirked and said something to Naruto, to which said boy stuck his tongue out and yelled something back. Sasuke then looked at me, and recognition spread across his face. He pointed at me and said something, then called through the crowd of people.

'Niisan!'

..........

..........

.....Oh, fuck. I looked around the marketplace for an escape route, ignoring the cartwheels Eri was turning in my head. There had to be some way out. If Itachi saw me he might start talking to me. He would realize I couldn't understand, and he'd take it a touch more seriously than Naruto had. He'd think I was a spy or something. I had to go.

I tried to sneak off in the other direction before Itachi appeared.

That plan promptly failed as soon as he appeared right in front of me. I shrieked and jumped backwards. He chuckled and said something in a soft voice. Of course, I couldn't answer, so I just looked at my feet, hoping he'd go away. Unfortunately, he didn't. He said something to catch my attention and asked me something.

Naruto answered. Itachi's eyes widened slightly and he looked at me warily. _'Shit!'_ I thought. _'Naruto's gone and told him that I don't speak Japanese! Oooooh, I'm in trouble.'_

Itachi gave me a friendly smile and started walking back the other way, while beckoning me to follow him. Intrigued, I followed against my better judgment. Both Naruto and Sasuke tagged along, not really knowing what was going on.

Itachi stopped at a large building and led me inside. I didn't get a good look at it, but it looked important. As we walked though hallways and up staircases, everyone we passed gave me a strange look. I supposed it was my appearance; I didn't exactly look Japanese, and my clothes didn't really fit in. I kept my eyes on the floor.

Itachi stopped me in front of a door with a sentry standing next to it. He spoke to the guard and after what sounded like a small argument, the sentry stepped aside and rapped on the door. An elderly man's voice answered. The sentry answered back with something about 'Itachi-san' and the elderly voice apparently granted us entry.

It was then that I realized who the old man was.

Itachi had taken me to the Hokage.

He was as kindly-looking as always, with a small smile on his wrinkled face. His assistant was looking more than a little stressed; probably due to work.

Itachi bowed and I hastily followed suit, deciding that it would be better in the long run if I acted on all I knew. Itachi then started talking and he didn't stop for a while. He gestured to Naruto, then to me a few times. The Hokage answered solemnly and looked at me curiously.

I flinched. What were they saying? What was going to happen to me? Was I going to be locked up? Questions were running through my head at a hundred miles an hour with no way to ask them and it was driving me crazy.

The Hokage was silent for a bit. He regarded me closely as he took in my appearance. I shut my eyes tightly and waited for something.

He spoke. He addressed his assistant, I think, and instructed him to do something. The assistant replied with, "Hai, Hokage-sama," and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Itachi remained with an even face but questioned the Hokage. The Third replied with a smooth-sounding answer and Itachi fell quiet. Naruto, however, brought it upon himself to maintain the conversation. He faced the Sandaime and spoke in his loud, obnoxious voice. He mentioned me once, I think, and ranted on for quite a bit before (I think) Sasuke told him to shut up.

The Hokage replied with the same smooth voice, and the room fell silent. I took this as a chance to check Itachi out.

**'OH MY GOD. You're in the Hokage's office under suspicion of being who knows what and all you're doing is CHECKING ITACHI OUT. While I admit that he's got a sweet ass.....'**

My eyes flickered down past Itachi's lower back before I could stop them and Eri burst out laughing, which echoed around my head like a cave. He really _did_ have a sweet ass. I glanced up at his face again. Although it was serious, there was none of the foreboding sense of coldness about him as there would be in the future. I wondered how long it would be before he changed for the worse.

The assistant came back in a few minutes later, with a kunoichi following close behind him. She looked about twenty, and she was wearing an all-too-familiar trench coat with not much underneath. Her black hair was held back with a clip and I recognized her immediately.

Miterashi Anko had a slightly bothered look on her face. She quickly bowed to the Third and said something that sounded like a complaint. The Hokage ignored this and explained the situation to her. I think. She looked around at me and her eyes widened.

**'Ya wanna stop STARIN' at me, bitch?!' **Eri retorted.

I silently agreed. I hated being stared at, especially by people I didn't know.

Anko turned to the Hokage and spoke in a disbelieving voice, to which he answered only with a small smile. She sighed and turned to me again, only this time she didn't stare, thank god. Instead, me gestured that I should follow her. I eyed her warily. Where did she want to take me?

Seeing my nervousness, Itachi put a comforting hand on my shoulder and smiled at me. At that point my mind didn't have enough brain space to even think about the consequences of following Anko, so I did what I was told.

The fuzzy feeling of comfort disappeared at the door of the Hokage building. As we walked, I recognized the route we were taking. She was leading me back to the place where I had run into Itachi this morning. I thanked the gods once again for my good memory. When we reached the Market square, however, she didn't stop. She went straight off the path and into the trees. It was almost as if she was heading to the portal. Did she know? But how could she?

But it seemed she did. She walked up to the tee and turned to face me. "This tree, yes?"

I jumped. The English language wasn't even supposed to exist in the Naruto world, and the fact that she had spoken in said language was a shock to say the least.

"Y-you speak English?!" I stuttered.

This question she ignored. "You come from this tree. Yes?"

"Y-yes."

She nodded and looked thoughtful. "I....discover? This tree."

I nodded to say that I understood.

"I find new world. I learn....Engrish."

How true.

"I......I tell....." She faltered, probably unsure how to say 'Hokage.'

"Your leader," I put forward.

"My.....reader? Leader. Yes. He....he say, if anyone come, give them choice. Stay, leave-"

Shit! "Um....do I have to leave forever? Couldn't I stay some of the time?"

Anko frowned. "Not let me finish. Stay, leave, half-half."

"So I _can_ come and go?"

"Nani?......ah, what?"

"Ah.....half-half. I can?"

Anko nodded. "Yes. But." She put on a stern face. "No tell. Anyone, ever. I see your land. Dirty, loud. Your people. Greedy. No tell."

While I didn't appreciate her talking about my world that way, I had to admit it was true. We didn't exactly care for the environment and if anyone got wind of a new world to be explored, they would fill it with cars and rubbish. I nodded back. "Of course. I promise."

"No excuse."

"Yes."

"Good. Come." She turned and started walking back to the Hokage Tower.

I obediently followed and we didn't speak until we were outside the entrance. "Others do not know that I speak you language. Must not. Do not speak."

"Of course."

We went in and headed for the Hokage's office. The guard let us through and opened the door, to which I found everybody still there. Anko nodded slightly at the Hokage, he nodded back and said something to the group in a cheery voice. I hoped that meant something good. But soon his face turned serious again and asked something else. Naruto immediately volunteered for whatever it was, but was promptly denied by the everyone in the room, and Naruto went into a sulk.

Itachi spoke in a business-like voice, and the Hokage smiled warmly at him. He said something that I think might have had 'Aregato' in the middle of it. Itachi nodded and left the room. It was quiet again, and it gave me time to think.

So Anko had found the portal. Dominique had said it had been there for a month. Either Anko was good at learning languages, or the time pattern was different. Not too different, but different. How long had I been gone? A day? Half a day? I would have to have an explanation ready when I came back if this was going to work.

Any further thought was dispelled as Itachi reappeared with his father. His father, Uchiha Fugaku! What was going on here?

Fugaku had a peeved look on his face. Obviously he'd been interrupted, and didn't want to be here. He sounded huffy hen he spoke to the Hokage, anyway. The Third replied calmly, gesturing to me in the process.

Fugaku blew his top. It was really, really loud. He shouted at the Hokage, frothing at the mouth, eyes glinting dangerously. What the hell was his problem? He was always hot-tempered, but Jesus Christ. What had made him so angry? I looked at Anko. She wasn't looking at me, but rather glaring at Fugaku. He noticed and glared back. He muttered something spitefully.

Anko twitched and yelled at him. He started yelling back, and soon the room was the noisiest I'd ever been in. The Hokage tried to calm them down but failed miserably. Finally, Itachi stepped up and placed his hand on his father's shoulder. His brows were furrowed slightly, and spoke in an agitated tone. After a few seconds Fugaku calmed a little but turned the remainder of his anger on Itachi. He remained unaffected by this and continued to speak in a firm, serious tone.

Fugaku fell silent and sulked for a full minute before muttering a grudging agreement. The Hokage broke into a wide smile, Anko smirked, Itachi smiled lightly, and Naruto complained.

Just what the hell was going on here? This was driving me crazy. What were they saying, dammit! I glanced at Anko again, and caught her eye. She winked and I calmed down somewhat. Still, this was really, really annoying.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and I jumped. The hand's owner chuckled softly and said something in a soothing voice that calmed my brain cells. Of course it was Itachi's, who else's voice had that magnitude of sexy in it? Nobody, of course.

Itachi gestured for me to follow him. Ignoring the catcalls Eri was doing in my head, I glanced uneasily at Anko. She nodded and gave me a half-smile. I guessed that was a good thing, but with Anko it was hard to tell. So I followed him, unaware of where he was leading me for the second time that day. Fugaku walked briskly ahead of us, still miffed at whatever had gone on between him and the Hokage.

As we walked, I kept my eyes on the ground. I was attracting too much attention as it was, and the last thing I needed was to look like tourist by gawking at everything I see. This was harder than it looked. Everything was so....different to home. It was without the noise and pollution, and everyone was so carefree. It was nice.

**'Nice it may be, but you won't be here to enjoy it once they execute you.'**

I mentally poked my tongue out at Eri._ 'They're not going to execute me!'_

**'And you know this how?'**

_'Anko told me they'd let me stay! And as if they'd kill me, they know I'm not a spy!'_

**'No they don't,' **Eri tutted. **'You could be a spy from our world. They don't know.'**

This thought caught me off guard. It was true. All they had was my word that I was innocent. And that meant nothing at all.

**'Ah, but don't worry. Mr. pretty boy would have objected if they were going to-'**

Eri never finished as I collided with Itachi's back. Thoroughly embarrassed, I quickly backed off and looked around him to see where we were. This question was immediately answered when the huge estate belonging to the Uchihas loomed in front of me.

Holy shit.

* * *

**Well I wasn't going to leave it there but I find I just don't fucking care anymore. This Fucking chapter was SO ANNOYING to write! do you realize how long it takes to write a chapter without the necessary dialogue? It was driving me nuts! So, sorry that held me up with this chapter.**

**Eri: Oh, and it had nothing to do with those Dating sims and hentai rpg's you were playing on newgrounds?**

**.....Maybe that too. Shut up! As if YOU don't play hentai games. Review please! I want at least 9 reviews before the next chapter! thanks!**


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